The National Guard ( es, link=no, Guardia Nacional) is the Mexican national

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

force, created in 2019 with national police functions. The National Guard was formed by absorbing units and officers from the

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

, and Naval Police. A reform package approved in the Mexican Congress has made the transfer of the National Guard to the direct command of the Mexican Army official.

History

The National Guard was launched by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican politician who has been serving as the 65th president of Mexico since 1 December 2018. He previously served as Head of Government of Mex ...

in 2019. It has since played a major part in intensifying the enforcement of immigration policy. Before becoming president, López Obrador campaigned on a promise to take the military off the streets. Shortly after assuming office, he released a plan to create the National Guard under control of the

Mexican Armed Forces The Mexican Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de México) are the military forces of the United Mexican States. The Spanish crown established a standing military in colonial Mexico in the eighteenth century. After Mexican independence in 1821, ...

which would be in charge of "preventing and combating crime". López Obrador stated that the new National Guard would be critical to solving Mexico's ongoing security crisis. On 28 February,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

voted to approve a 60,000-member national guard. On 27 May 2019, the law regulating the National Guard entered into force. On 30 June 2019, the National Guard was officially established. In June 2019, as part of a deal the

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, Mexico agreed to deploy the newly formed National Guard to its border with

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

. While the guard was always intended to enforce

immigration policy Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

, it was not intended to do so as soon as announced. A 2019 survey sponsored by ''

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'' and Mexican newspaper ''

Reforma REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, more commonly known as REFORMA, is an affiliate of the American Library Association formed in 1971 to promote library services to Lat ...

'' gathered information on public opinion regarding both the new National Guard and illegal immigration to Mexico. The survey was conducted from 9 July to 14 July 2019, among 1,200 adults across the country in 100 election districts by way of face-to-face interviews. A 53% majority voiced their trust in the national guard, with two-thirds saying that they would like the national guard to be in their city, whereas 45% report that they feel more safe with the domestic force. Furthermore, the survey said 51% of Mexicans support utilizing the country's recently formed National Guard to repel migration by illegal immigrants.

Command structure

The law assigns full control of the National Guard to the Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection, who is in charge of all matters related to the work of the NG. According to article 12 of the Law of the National Guard, the National Guard is organized on five command levels: * Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection * Operational Commander * Territorial Coordinator * State Coordinator * Unit Coordinator

Ranks

According to article 29 of the Law of the National Guard, the ranks are:

Commissioned officers

Basic scale ladder

References

External links

* {{Authority control Military units and formations established in 2019 Military of Mexico Federal law enforcement agencies of Mexico Gendarmerie